


In Perspective

by OnAStallion



Series: Tesseract [3]
Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Jealousy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 04:11:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7786285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnAStallion/pseuds/OnAStallion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A jealous Holtzmann is a terrifying thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Perspective

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wobblyheadeddollcaper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wobblyheadeddollcaper/gifts).



They turn up at the Halloween party dressed as a hypercube. Holtzmann keeps explaining it, smiling widely every time, but most people just nod vacantly and turn away, into other less nerdy conversations. Erin and Holtzmann exchange several _other people are so dull_ looks. Patty doesn't say anything, but gives Erin an encouraging smile and squeezes her arm. Erin is grateful; her hand slips sweatily into her pocket every ten seconds to check that the ring is still there. The hypercube disentangles itself briefly to allow for a much-needed bathroom break.

When Erin returns, she finds Patty and Abby gaping in bewilderment at Kevin, who is dressed in scandalously short khaki hotpants and a khaki shirt which has been unbuttoned beyond the point of ridiculousness. He appears to be wearing nothing underneath either of these extremely tight garments. The shirt, barely more than a wispy scrap of fabric, has their official Ghostbusters logo on the right side of the chest. He's holding a water pistol in one hand and a lime in the other, and is alternating squirts of each into his mouth. "Tequila," Kevin shouts over the music, waving the water gun. "Want some?"

"What," Abby says slowly, "the hell are you wearing?"

"I'm a Ghostbuster too," he says cheerfully and looks down to check that he is in fact still wearing the outfit. "They sell them on Amazon."

"Huh," Abby murmurs.

Patty considers this. "What did you type in, in order to find it?"

Kevin looks puzzled. "'Sexy Ghostbusters costume', of course." His face brightens. "And that's what I got. It's definitely sexy."

Erin's jaw hurts with the effort of maintaining a stoic expression. She wants desperately to laugh but that would be unkind, and he's a good guy really. Just misguided. And inept. Hugely incompetent. Barely employable, in fact. But sweet in his own way. She watches him take another squirt of tequila. Some of it dribbles down his chin.

Holtzmann has materialised at Erin's elbow. "Whatcha staring at?"

"I'm not staring," Erin says automatically.

Holtzmann, who definitely is staring, takes in the scene. Her eyebrows draw together. Erin feels the temperature of the room drop noticeably; ghost-hunting instincts force her to take a step back. She wishes she hadn't. Holtzmann looks mutinous.

"I could wear that," she says quietly. "Would you stare at me then?"

Erin flushes. Holtzmann has an amazing body, and the point of the hypercube costume was to encourage her self-esteem and social comfort, not to break it down by comparing her to Kevin. Erin feel the flush creep further down as she mentally pictures Holtzmann draped in that tiny shirt. She swallows hard. Erin slips her hand into her pocket again, touches the ring, feels the moment build; she should say something grand and sweeping, something about how she'd only ever like to stare at Holtzmann every day for the rest of her life, something about how since she met Holtzmann she's only had eyes for one person. And then her mouth completely and spectacularly screws her over. "It's a very small shirt," it says, unbidden by her brain.

Holtzmann looks incredulous. Her eyes are wide. Pained. Erin feels the situation slide away from her and tries to think of something else to say.

"I'm not staring," Erin says again, and then stops. She takes a deep breath, grips the ring, and tries again, but Holtzmann is looking so much like a kicked puppy that Erin's throat closes up and she can only choke out a half-hearted, "babe, wait."

She reaches for Holtzmann, who jerks away from her outstretched hand. There's a muscle twitching in her cheek.

"Right," Holtzmann says, spinning on her heel and striding away. The word has a terrifying finality to it. It's the splinter of a long-taut branch, the sudden pull of a lever, the tipping point into catastrophe; it's the sound of Jillian Holtzmann finally snapping.

"Where are you going?" Erin yelps.

"To get your attention, since I obviously need to," Holtzmann turns and winks - but its a savage, bitter sort of wink - and disappears into the crowd.

Erin looks around, panic-stricken. Abby is nowhere to be seen, and Kevin has started to twerk against Patty, who is about four drinks away from being able to tolerate his shenanigans.

"Shit."

****

After the fire marshals leave - several long, unnecessarily patronising lectures later, because it really hasn't been that many fires, in the grand scheme of things, and the thing last year with the pipes wasn't even their fault, technically - Erin finds Holtzmann on the roof wrapped in a singed blanket.

"I'm sorry," Erin says, and sits down beside her.

"I wasn't expecting the punchbowl to go up like that," Holtzmann admits.

"I think Kevin spiked it."

"Ah. Kevin."

The silence is uncomfortable and stretches on for far too long.

"Sweetheart," Erin says, "you don't need to get my attention. You have it."

"I know," Holtzmann mutters, picking at bits of blackened blanket. "I don't like the way you look at him. You always... stared."

Erin slides awkwardly onto one knee and holds the ring out. "I'm not staring now," she says. "In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been staring at anyone but you for quite a long time now."

Holtzmann looks so startled that Erin wobbles slightly. "I mean," she continues lamely, "you have noticed that. Haven't you?"

Holtzmann starts to grin. "I guess maybe I didn't."

"Jillian Holtzmann, you're the most beautiful, brilliant, amazing person I've ever met and if you would do me the honour of being my wife, I will spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of you."

"Is there a question in there?"

"Dork. I'm trying to propose here."

Holtzmann reclines against the wall casually but Erin can see her eyes are watering. "Get on with it then."

"Will you marry me?"

The answer comes without further mockery, which surprises them both.

"Yes."


End file.
